19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while 1 Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. 2 When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night 3 and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” 4 “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” 5
19:3 But he urged 6 them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate. 19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, 7 all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. 8 19:5 They shouted to Lot, 9 “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex 10 with them!”
19:6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him. 19:7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly! 11 19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with 12 a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. 13 Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection 14 of my roof.” 15
19:9 “Out of our way!” 16 they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, 17 and now he dares to judge us! 18 We’ll do more harm 19 to you than to them!” They kept 20 pressing in on Lot until they were close enough 21 to break down the door.
19:10 So the men inside 22 reached out 23 and pulled Lot back into the house 24 as they shut the door. 19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, 25 with blindness. The men outside 26 wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors 27 said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? 28 Do you have 29 any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? 30 Get them out of this 31 place 19:13 because we are about to destroy 32 it. The outcry against this place 33 is so great before the Lord that he 34 has sent us to destroy it.”
19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. 35 He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy 36 the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. 37
19:15 At dawn 38 the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, 39 or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” 40 19:16 When Lot 41 hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. 42 They led them away and placed them 43 outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they 44 said, “Run 45 for your lives! Don’t look 46 behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! 47 Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”
19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! 48 19:19 Your 49 servant has found favor with you, 50 and you have shown me great 51 kindness 52 by sparing 53 my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because 54 this disaster will overtake 55 me and I’ll die. 56 19:20 Look, this town 57 over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. 58 Let me go there. 59 It’s just a little place, isn’t it? 60 Then I’ll survive.” 61
19:21 “Very well,” he replied, 62 “I will grant this request too 63 and will not overthrow 64 the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, 65 for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) 66
19:23 The sun had just risen 67 over the land as Lot reached Zoar. 68 19:24 Then the Lord rained down 69 sulfur and fire 70 on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. 71 19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, 72 including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew 73 from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s 74 wife looked back longingly 75 and was turned into a pillar of salt.
19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went 76 to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward 77 Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. 78 As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. 79
19:29 So when God destroyed 80 the cities of the region, 81 God honored 82 Abraham’s request. He removed Lot 83 from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed 84 the cities Lot had lived in.
19:30 Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 19:31 Later the older daughter said 85 to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby 86 to have sexual relations with us, 87 according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine 88 so we can have sexual relations 89 with him and preserve 90 our family line through our father.” 91
19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, 92 and the older daughter 93 came and had sexual relations with her father. 94 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 95 19:34 So in the morning the older daughter 96 said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. 97 Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 98 19:35 So they made their father drunk 99 that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. 100 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 101
19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter 102 gave birth to a son and named him Moab. 103 He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 19:38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. 104 He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.
20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev 105 region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident 106 in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.
20:3 But God appeared 107 to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead 108 because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” 109
20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, 110 would you really slaughter an innocent nation? 111 20:5 Did Abraham 112 not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, 113 ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience 114 and with innocent hands!”
20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. 115 That is why I have kept you 116 from sinning against me and why 117 I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed 118 he is a prophet 119 and he will pray for you; thus you will live. 120 But if you don’t give her back, 121 know that you will surely die 122 along with all who belong to you.”
20:8 Early in the morning 123 Abimelech summoned 124 all his servants. When he told them about all these things, 125 they 126 were terrified. 20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? 127 You have done things to me that should not be done!” 128 20:10 Then Abimelech asked 129 Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” 130
20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, 131 ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of 132 my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, 133 she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 20:13 When God made me wander 134 from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: 135 Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”
20:14 So Abimelech gave 136 sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 20:15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” 137
20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver 138 to your ‘brother.’ 139 This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” 140
20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord 141 had caused infertility to strike every woman 142 in the household of Abimelech because he took 143 Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
21:1 The Lord visited 144 Sarah just as he had said he would and did 145 for Sarah what he had promised. 146 21:2 So Sarah became pregnant 147 and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. 21:3 Abraham named his son – whom Sarah bore to him – Isaac. 148 21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, 149 Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. 150 21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) 151
21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. 152 Everyone who hears about this 153 will laugh 154 with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, 155 “Who would 156 have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”
21:8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared 157 a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 158 21:9 But Sarah noticed 159 the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. 160 21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish 161 that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”
21:11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son. 162 21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset 163 about the boy or your slave wife. Do 164 all that Sarah is telling 165 you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. 166 21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”
21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took 167 some food 168 and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, 169 and sent her away. So she went wandering 170 aimlessly through the wilderness 171 of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved 172 the child under one of the shrubs. 21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot 173 away; for she thought, 174 “I refuse to watch the child die.” 175 So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. 176
21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. 177 The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, 178 Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard 179 the boy’s voice right where he is crying. 21:18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 21:19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water. 180 She went over and filled the skin with water, and then gave the boy a drink.
21:20 God was with the boy as he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. 181 His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. 182
21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you 183 in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name 184 that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. 185 Show me, and the land 186 where you are staying, 187 the same loyalty 188 that I have shown you.” 189
21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” 190 21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint 191 against Abimelech concerning a well 192 that Abimelech’s servants had seized. 193 21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, 194 you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”
21:27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty. 195 21:28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves. 21:29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these 196 seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 21:30 He replied, “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof 197 that I dug this well.” 198 21:31 That is why he named that place 199 Beer Sheba, 200 because the two of them swore 201 an oath there.
21:32 So they made a treaty 202 at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned 203 to the land of the Philistines. 204 21:33 Abraham 205 planted a tamarisk tree 206 in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, 207 the eternal God. 21:34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time. 208
22:1 Some time after these things God tested 209 Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham 210 replied. 22:2 God 211 said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac 212 – and go to the land of Moriah! 213 Offer him up there as a burnt offering 214 on one of the mountains which I will indicate to 215 you.”
22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. 216 He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out 217 for the place God had spoken to him about.
22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of 218 the place in the distance. 22:5 So he 219 said to his servants, “You two stay 220 here with the donkey while 221 the boy and I go up there. We will worship 222 and then return to you.” 223
22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, 224 and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, 225 “My father?” “What is it, 226 my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, 227 “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide 228 for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.
22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there 229 and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up 230 his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter 231 his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel 232 called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” 233 the angel said. 234 “Do not do anything to him, for now I know 235 that you fear 236 God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”
22:13 Abraham looked up 237 and saw 238 behind him 239 a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he 240 went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” 241 It is said to this day, 242 “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” 243
22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ 244 decrees the Lord, 245 ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, 246 and I will greatly multiply 247 your descendants 248 so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession 249 of the strongholds 250 of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, 251 all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 252 using the name of your descendants.’”
22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together 253 for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. 254
22:20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah 255 also has borne children to your brother Nahor – 22:21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 256 22:22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 22:23 (Now 257 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) These were the eight sons Milcah bore to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 22:24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore him children – Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. 258 23:2 Then she 259 died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 260
23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife 261 and said to the sons of Heth, 262 23:4 “I am a temporary settler 263 among you. Grant 264 me ownership 265 of a burial site among you so that I may 266 bury my dead.” 267
23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, 268 23:6 “Listen, sir, 269 you are a mighty prince 270 among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you 271 from burying your dead.”
23:7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, 272 the sons of Heth. 23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree 273 that I may bury my dead, 274 then hear me out. 275 Ask 276 Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell 277 me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly 278 for the full price, 279 so that I may own it as a burial site.”
23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite 280 replied to Abraham in the hearing 281 of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate 282 of his city – 23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell 283 you both the field and the cave that is in it. 284 In the presence of my people 285 I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”
23:12 Abraham bowed before the local people 23:13 and said to Ephron in their hearing, “Hear me, if you will. I pay 286 to you the price 287 of the field. Take it from me so that I may 288 bury my dead there.”
23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth 289 400 pieces of silver, 290 but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”
23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price 291 and weighed 292 out for him 293 the price 294 that Ephron had quoted 295 in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. 296
23:17 So Abraham secured 297 Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, 23:18 as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city. 298
23:19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 23:20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site 299 from the sons of Heth.
24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, 300 and the Lord had blessed him 301 in everything. 24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one 302 in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh 303 24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise 304 by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire 305 a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 24:4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives 306 to find 307 a wife for my son Isaac.”
24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me 308 to this land? Must I then 309 take your son back to the land from which you came?”
24:6 “Be careful 310 never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. 311 24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, 312 promised me with a solemn oath, 313 ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel 314 before you so that you may find 315 a wife for my son from there. 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, 316 you will be free 317 from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!” 24:9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes. 318
24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. 319 He journeyed 320 to the region of Aram Naharaim 321 and the city of Nahor. 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well 322 outside the city. It was evening, 323 the time when the women would go out to draw water. 24:12 He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. 324 Be faithful 325 to my master Abraham. 24:13 Here I am, standing by the spring, 326 and the daughters of the people 327 who live in the town are coming out to draw water. 24:14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ 328 In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” 329
24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah 330 with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor). 331 24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. 332 She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 24:17 Abraham’s servant 333 ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.” 24:18 “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and quickly lowering 334 her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 24:19 When she had done so, 335 she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 24:20 She quickly emptied 336 her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels. 24:21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine 337 if the Lord had made his journey successful 338 or not.
24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka 339 and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels 340 and gave them to her. 341 24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. 342 “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”
24:24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor. 343 24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, 344 “and room for you 345 to spend the night.”
24:26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, 24:27 saying “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love 346 for my master! The Lord has led me 347 to the house 348 of my master’s relatives!” 349
24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about 350 these things. 24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) 351 Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring. 24:30 When he saw the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and the nose ring 352 and heard his sister Rebekah say, 353 “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing 354 by the camels near the spring. 24:31 Laban said to him, 355 “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! 356 Why are you standing out here when I have prepared 357 the house and a place for the camels?”
24:32 So Abraham’s servant 358 went to the house and unloaded 359 the camels. Straw and feed were given 360 to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. 361 24:33 When food was served, 362 he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” 363 “Tell us,” Laban said. 364
24:34 “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. 24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. 365 The Lord 366 has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 24:36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him 367 when she was old, 368 and my master 369 has given him everything he owns. 24:37 My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 24:38 but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find 370 a wife for my son.’ 24:39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go 371 with me?’ 372 24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, 373 will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. 24:41 You will be free from your oath 374 if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.’ 24:42 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, 375 may events unfold as follows: 376 24:43 Here I am, standing by the spring. 377 When 378 the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Give me a little water to drink from your jug.” 24:44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’
24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, 379 along came Rebekah 380 with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 24:46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. 24:47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’ 381 I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 24:48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter 382 of my master’s brother for his son. 24:49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.” 383
24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. 384 Our wishes are of no concern. 385 24:51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become 386 the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.” 387
24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 24:53 Then he 388 brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother. 24:54 After this, he and the men who were with him ate a meal and stayed there overnight. 389
When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.” 390 24:55 But Rebekah’s 391 brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us a few more days, perhaps ten. Then she can go.” 24:56 But he said to them, “Don’t detain me – the Lord 392 has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return 393 to my master.” 24:57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.” 394 24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want 395 to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”
24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 24:60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: 396
“Our sister, may you become the mother 397 of thousands of ten thousands!
May your descendants possess the strongholds 398 of their enemies.”
24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with 399 the man. So Abraham’s servant 400 took Rebekah and left.
24:62 Now 401 Isaac came from 402 Beer Lahai Roi, 403 for 404 he was living in the Negev. 405 24:63 He 406 went out to relax 407 in the field in the early evening. 408 Then he looked up 409 and saw that 410 there were camels approaching. 24:64 Rebekah looked up 411 and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 24:65 and asked 412 Abraham’s servant, 413 “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. 414 So she took her veil and covered herself.
24:66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah 415 into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her 416 as his wife and loved her. 417 So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. 418
25:1 Abraham had taken 419 another 420 wife, named Keturah. 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. 421 The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants 422 of Keturah.
25:5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac. 25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines 423 and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. 424
25:7 Abraham lived a total of 425 175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. 426 He joined his ancestors. 427 25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah 428 near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite. 25:10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. 429 There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed 430 his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. 431
25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, 432 whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.
25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: 433 Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 25:15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their settlements and their camps – twelve princes 434 according to their clans.
25:17 Ishmael lived a total of 435 137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. 436 25:18 His descendants 437 settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next 438 to Egypt all the way 439 to Asshur. 440 They settled 441 away from all their relatives. 442
25:19 This is the account of Isaac, 443 the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, 444 the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 445
25:21 Isaac prayed to 446 the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 25:22 But the children struggled 447 inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” 448 So she asked the Lord, 449 25:23 and the Lord said to her,
“Two nations 450 are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from within you.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, 451 there were 452 twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish 453 all over, 454 like a hairy 455 garment, so they named him Esau. 456 25:26 When his brother came out with 457 his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. 458 Isaac was sixty years old 459 when they were born.
25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled 460 hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. 461 25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, 462 but Rebekah loved 463 Jacob.
25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, 464 and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed 465 me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called 466 Edom.) 467
25:31 But Jacob replied, “First 468 sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” 469 25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” 470 So Esau 471 swore an oath to him and sold his birthright 472 to Jacob.
25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. 473 So Esau despised his birthright. 474
26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred 475 in the days of Abraham. 476 Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; 477 settle down in the land that I will point out to you. 478 26:3 Stay 479 in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, 480 for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, 481 and I will fulfill 482 the solemn promise I made 483 to your father Abraham. 26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them 484 all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. 485 26:5 All this will come to pass 486 because Abraham obeyed me 487 and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” 488 26:6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.
26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” 489 He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, 490 “The men of this place will kill me to get 491 Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
26:8 After Isaac 492 had been there a long time, 493 Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed 494 Isaac caressing 495 his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really 496 your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” 497
26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 498 One of the men 499 might easily have had sexual relations with 500 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches 501 this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” 502
26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, 503 because the Lord blessed him. 504 26:13 The man became wealthy. 505 His influence continued to grow 506 until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had 507 so many sheep 508 and cattle 509 and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous 510 of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up 511 all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.
26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, 512 for you have become much more powerful 513 than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. 514 26:18 Isaac reopened 515 the wells that had been dug 516 back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up 517 after Abraham died. Isaac 518 gave these wells 519 the same names his father had given them. 520
26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing 521 water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled 522 with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac 523 named the well 524 Esek 525 because they argued with him about it. 526 26:21 His servants 527 dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it 528 Sitnah. 529 26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac 530 named it 531 Rehoboth, 532 saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
26:23 From there Isaac 533 went up to Beer Sheba. 26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped 534 the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. 535
26:26 Now Abimelech had come 536 to him from Gerar along with 537 Ahuzzah his friend 538 and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me 539 and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see 540 that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be 541 a pact between us 542 – between us 543 and you. Allow us to make 544 a treaty with you 26:29 so that 545 you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed 546 you, but have always treated you well 547 before sending you away 548 in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” 549
26:30 So Isaac 550 held a feast for them and they celebrated. 551 26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. 552 Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. 553
26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. 554 26:33 So he named it Shibah; 555 that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba 556 to this day.
26:34 When 557 Esau was forty years old, 558 he married 559 Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 26:35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. 560
27:1 When 561 Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, 562 he called his older 563 son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau 564 replied. 27:2 Isaac 565 said, “Since 566 I am so old, I could die at any time. 567 27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game 568 for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then 569 I will eat it so that I may bless you 570 before I die.”
27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. 571 When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, 572 27:6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 27:7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat 573 it and bless you 574 in the presence of the Lord 575 before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do 576 exactly what I tell you! 577 27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare 578 them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take 579 it to your father. Thus he will eat it 580 and 581 bless you before he dies.”
27:11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! 582 27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him 583 and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” 27:13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me, 584 my son! Just obey me! 585 Go and get them for me!”
27:14 So he went and got the goats 586 and brought them to his mother. She 587 prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 27:16 She put the skins of the young goats 588 on his hands 589 and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed 590 the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac 591 replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” 592 27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up 593 and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” 594 27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world 595 did you find it so quickly, 596 my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” 597 he replied. 598 27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, 599 my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” 600 27:22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.” 27:23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. 601 27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob 602 replied. 27:25 Isaac 603 said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. 604 Then I will bless you.” 605 So Jacob 606 brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac 607 drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob 608 went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent 609 of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,
“Yes, 610 my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the Lord has blessed.
27:28 May God give you
the dew of the sky 611
and the richness 612 of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
27:29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
You will be 613 lord 614 over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. 615
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
27:30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left 616 his father’s 617 presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. 618 27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau 619 said to him, “My father, get up 620 and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” 621 27:32 His father Isaac asked, 622 “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” 623 he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently 624 and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him. 625 He will indeed be blessed!”
27:34 When Esau heard 626 his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. 627 He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac 628 replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away 629 your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! 630 He has tripped me up 631 two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”
27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” 27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” 632 Then Esau wept loudly. 633
27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,
“Indeed, 634 your home will be
away from the richness 635 of the earth,
and away from the dew of the sky above.
27:40 You will live by your sword
but you will serve your brother.
When you grow restless,
you will tear off his yoke
from your neck.” 636
27:41 So Esau hated 637 Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. 638 Esau said privately, 639 “The time 640 of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill 641 my brother Jacob!”
27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, 642 she quickly summoned 643 her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. 644 27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. 645 Run away immediately 646 to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while 647 until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there 648 until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there. 649 Why should I lose both of you in one day?” 650
27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed 651 because of these daughters of Heth. 652 If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” 653
28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! 654 28:2 Leave immediately 655 for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 28:3 May the sovereign God 656 bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! 657 Then you will become 658 a large nation. 659 28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham 660 so that you may possess the land 661 God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” 662 28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. 663 As he blessed him, 664 Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 665 28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized 666 that the Canaanite women 667 were displeasing to 668 his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married 669 Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.
28:10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran. 28:11 He reached a certain place 670 where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. 671 He took one of the stones 672 and placed it near his head. 673 Then he fell asleep 674 in that place 28:12 and had a dream. 675 He saw 676 a stairway 677 erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it 28:13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. 678 I will give you and your descendants the ground 679 you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, 680 and you will spread out 681 to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 682 using your name and that of your descendants. 683 28:15 I am with you! 684 I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”
28:16 Then Jacob woke up 685 and thought, 686 “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!” 28:17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”
28:18 Early 687 in the morning Jacob 688 took the stone he had placed near his head 689 and set it up as a sacred stone. 690 Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, 691 although the former name of the town was Luz. 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food 692 to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, 693 then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone 694 that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely 695 give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” 696
29:1 So Jacob moved on 697 and came to the land of the eastern people. 698 29:2 He saw 699 in the field a well with 700 three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now 701 a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds 702 would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the well’s mouth.
29:4 Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They replied, “We’re from Haran.” 29:5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson 703 of Nahor?” “We know him,” 704 they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” 705 Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. 706 Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob 707 said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, 708 it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” 709 29:8 “We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water 710 the sheep.”
29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. 711 29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, 712 and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he 713 went over 714 and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. 715 29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. 716 29:12 When Jacob explained 717 to Rachel that he was a relative of her father 718 and the son of Rebekah, she ran and told her father. 29:13 When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob 719 told Laban how he was related to him. 720 29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” 721 So Jacob 722 stayed with him for a month. 723
29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work 724 for me for nothing because you are my relative? 725 Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; 726 the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, 727 but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) 728 29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with 729 Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.” 29:19 Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man. 730 Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. 731 But they seemed like only a few days to him 732 because his love for her was so great. 733
29:21 Finally Jacob said 734 to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. 735 I want to have marital relations with her.” 736 29:22 So Laban invited all the people 737 of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah 738 to Jacob, 739 and Jacob 740 had marital relations with her. 741 29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 742
29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! 743 So Jacob 744 said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! 745 Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked 746 me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” 747 Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage 748 before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. 749 Then we will give you the younger one 750 too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” 751
29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. 752 When Jacob 753 completed Leah’s bridal week, 754 Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 755 29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 756 29:30 Jacob 757 had marital relations 758 with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban 759 for seven more years. 760
29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, 761 he enabled her to become pregnant 762 while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant 763 and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, 764 for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. 765 Surely my husband will love me now.”
29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, 766 he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. 767
29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, 768 because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. 769
29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. 770 Then she stopped having children.
30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she 771 became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children 772 or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious 773 with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 774 30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with 775 her so that she can bear 776 children 777 for me 778 and I can have a family through her.” 779
30:4 So Rachel 780 gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with 781 her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant 782 and gave Jacob a son. 783 30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer 784 and given me a son.” That is why 785 she named him Dan. 786
30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. 787 30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” 788 So she named him Naphtali. 789
30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave 790 her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. 791 30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” 792 So she named him Gad. 793
30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. 794 30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, 795 for women 796 will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. 797
30:14 At the time 798 of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants 799 in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 30:15 But Leah replied, 800 “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” 801 Rachel said, “he may sleep 802 with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep 803 with me because I have paid for your services 804 with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations 805 with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention 806 to Leah; she became pregnant 807 and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. 808 30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward 809 because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” 810 So she named him Issachar. 811
30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. 812 30:20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 813
30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
30:22 Then God took note of 814 Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. 815 30:23 She became pregnant 816 and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” 817 30:24 She named him Joseph, 818 saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”
30:25 After Rachel had given birth 819 to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send 820 me on my way so that I can go 821 home to my own country. 822 30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. 823 Then I’ll depart, 824 because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” 825
30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, 826 for I have learned by divination 827 that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” 828
30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, 829 “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. 830 30:30 Indeed, 831 you had little before I arrived, 832 but now your possessions have increased many times over. 833 The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. 834 But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” 835
30:31 So Laban asked, 836 “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” 837 Jacob replied, 838 “but if you agree to this one condition, 839 I will continue to care for 840 your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among 841 all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, 842 and the spotted or speckled goats. 843 These animals will be my wages. 844 30:33 My integrity will testify for me 845 later on. 846 When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, 847 if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.” 848 30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” 849
30:35 So that day Laban 850 removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in the care 851 of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, 852 while 853 Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.
30:37 But Jacob took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He made white streaks by peeling them, making the white inner wood in the branches visible. 30:38 Then he set up the peeled branches in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He set up the branches in front of the flocks when they were in heat and came to drink. 854 30:39 When the sheep mated 855 in front of the branches, they 856 gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 30:40 Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face 857 the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban’s flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban’s flocks. 30:41 When the stronger females were in heat, 858 Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches. 30:42 But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there. 859 So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban 860 and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob 861 became extremely prosperous. He owned 862 large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.
1 tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.
2 tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.
3 tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.
4 tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”
5 sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.
6 tn The Hebrew verb פָּצַר (patsar, “to press, to insist”) ironically foreshadows the hostile actions of the men of the city (see v. 9, where the verb also appears). The repetition of the word serves to contrast Lot to his world.
7 tn The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) means “to lie down, to recline,” that is, “to go to bed.” Here what appears to be an imperfect is a preterite after the adverb טֶרֶם (terem). The nuance of potential (perfect) fits well.
8 tn Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].” The repetition of the phrase “men of” stresses all kinds of men.
9 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
10 tn The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’, “to know”) is used here in the sense of “to lie with” or “to have sex with” (as in Gen 4:1). That this is indeed the meaning is clear from Lot’s warning that they not do so wickedly, and his willingness to give them his daughters instead.
11 tn Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”
12 tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
13 tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”
14 tn Heb “shadow.”
15 sn This chapter portrays Lot as a hypocrite. He is well aware of the way the men live in his city and is apparently comfortable in the midst of it. But when confronted by the angels, he finally draws the line. But he is nevertheless willing to sacrifice his daughters’ virginity to protect his guests. His opposition to the crowds leads to his rejection as a foreigner by those with whom he had chosen to live. The one who attempted to rescue his visitors ends up having to be rescued by them.
16 tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”
17 tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”
18 tn Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”
19 tn The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.
20 tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”
21 tn Heb “and they drew near.”
22 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “inside” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
23 tn The Hebrew text adds “their hand.” These words have not been translated for stylistic reasons.
24 tn Heb “to them into the house.”
25 tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”
26 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
27 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
28 tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”
29 tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
30 tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”
31 tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.
32 tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.
33 tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
34 tn Heb “the
35 sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.
36 tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.
37 tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.
38 tn Heb “When dawn came up.”
39 tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.
40 tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
41 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42 tn Heb “in the compassion of the
43 tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).
44 tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.
45 tn Heb “escape.”
46 tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.
47 tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
48 tn Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
49 tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.
50 tn Heb “in your eyes.”
51 tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”
52 sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.
53 tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.
54 tn Heb “lest.”
55 tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.
56 tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.
57 tn The Hebrew word עִיר (’ir) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the size of the place. Given that this place was described by Lot later in this verse as a “little place,” the translation uses “town.”
58 tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”
59 tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.
60 tn Heb “Is it not little?”
61 tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.
62 tn Heb “And he said, ‘Look, I will grant.’” The order of the clauses has been rearranged for stylistic reasons. The referent of the speaker (“he”) is somewhat ambiguous: It could be taken as the angel to whom Lot has been speaking (so NLT; note the singular references in vv. 18-19), or it could be that Lot is speaking directly to the
63 tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”
64 tn The negated infinitive construct indicates either the consequence of God’s granting the request (“I have granted this request, so that I will not”) or the manner in which he will grant it (“I have granted your request by not destroying”).
65 tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.
66 tn Heb “Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar.” The name of the place, צוֹעַר (tso’ar) apparently means “Little Place,” in light of the wordplay with the term “little” (מִצְעָר, mits’ar) used twice by Lot to describe the town (v. 20).
67 sn The sun had just risen. There was very little time for Lot to escape between dawn (v. 15) and sunrise (here).
68 tn The juxtaposition of the two disjunctive clauses indicates synchronic action. The first action (the sun’s rising) occurred as the second (Lot’s entering Zoar) took place. The disjunctive clauses also signal closure for the preceding scene.
69 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.
70 tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).
71 tn Heb “from the
72 tn Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
73 tn Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”
74 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
75 tn The Hebrew verb means “to look intently; to gaze” (see 15:5).
76 tn The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
77 tn Heb “upon the face of.”
78 tn Or “all the land of the plain”; Heb “and all the face of the land of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
79 tn Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.”
80 tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.
81 tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
82 tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the
83 sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.
84 tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”
85 tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”
86 tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.
87 tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.
88 tn Heb “drink wine.”
89 tn Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.
90 tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.
91 tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
92 tn Heb “drink wine.”
93 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
94 tn Heb “and the firstborn came and lied down with her father.” The expression “lied down with” here and in the following verses is a euphemism for sexual relations.
95 tn Heb “and he did not know when she lay down and when she arose.”
96 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
97 tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”
98 tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
99 tn Heb “drink wine.”
100 tn Heb “lied down with him.”
101 tn Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”
102 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
103 sn The meaning of the name Moab is not certain. The name sounds like the Hebrew phrase “from our father” (מֵאָבִינוּ, me’avinu) which the daughters used twice (vv. 32, 34). This account is probably included in the narrative in order to portray the Moabites, who later became enemies of God’s people, in a negative light.
104 sn The name Ben-Ammi means “son of my people.” Like the account of Moab’s birth, this story is probably included in the narrative to portray the Ammonites, another perennial enemy of Israel, in a negative light.
105 tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”
106 tn Heb “and he sojourned.”
107 tn Heb “came.”
108 tn Heb “Look, you [are] dead.” The Hebrew construction uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with a second person pronominal particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with by the participle. It is a highly rhetorical expression.
109 tn Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.
110 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
111 tn Apparently Abimelech assumes that God’s judgment will fall on his entire nation. Some, finding the reference to a nation problematic, prefer to emend the text and read, “Would you really kill someone who is innocent?” See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 149.
112 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
113 tn Heb “and she, even she.”
114 tn Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”
115 tn Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”
116 tn Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”
117 tn Heb “therefore.”
118 tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.
119 sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.
120 tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.
121 tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.
122 tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.
123 tn Heb “And Abimelech rose early in the morning and he summoned.”
124 tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) followed by the preposition לְ (lamed) means “to summon.”
125 tn Heb “And he spoke all these things in their ears.”
126 tn Heb “the men.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “they” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
127 tn Heb “How did I sin against you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin?” The expression “great sin” refers to adultery. For discussion of the cultural background of the passage, see J. J. Rabinowitz, “The Great Sin in Ancient Egyptian Marriage Contracts,” JNES 18 (1959): 73, and W. L. Moran, “The Scandal of the ‘Great Sin’ at Ugarit,” JNES 18 (1959): 280-81.
128 tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.
129 tn Heb “And Abimelech said to.”
130 tn Heb “What did you see that you did this thing?” The question implies that Abraham had some motive for deceiving Abimelech.
131 tn Heb “Because I said.”
132 tn Heb “over the matter of.”
133 tn Heb “but also.”
134 tn The Hebrew verb is plural. This may be a case of grammatical agreement with the name for God, which is plural in form. However, when this plural name refers to the one true God, accompanying predicates are usually singular in form. Perhaps Abraham is accommodating his speech to Abimelech’s polytheistic perspective. (See GKC 463 §145.i.) If so, one should translate, “when the gods made me wander.”
135 tn Heb “This is your loyal deed which you can do for me.”
136 tn Heb “took and gave.”
137 tn Heb “In the [place that is] good in your eyes live!”
138 sn A thousand pieces [Heb “shekels”] of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 11.5 kilograms, or 400 ounces (about 25 pounds).
139 sn To your ‘brother.’ Note the way that the king refers to Abraham. Was he being sarcastic? It was surely a rebuke to Sarah. What is amazing is how patient this king was. It is proof that the fear of God was in that place, contrary to what Abraham believed (see v. 11).
140 tn Heb “Look, it is for you a covering of the eyes, for all who are with you, and with all, and you are set right.” The exact meaning of the statement is unclear. Apparently it means that the gift of money somehow exonerates her in other people’s eyes. They will not look on her as compromised (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:74).
141 tn In the Hebrew text the clause begins with “because.”
142 tn Heb had completely closed up every womb.” In the Hebrew text infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
143 tn Heb “because of.” The words “he took” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
144 sn The Hebrew verb translated “visit” (פָּקַד, paqad ) often describes divine intervention for blessing or cursing; it indicates God’s special attention to an individual or a matter, always with respect to his people’s destiny. He may visit (that is, destroy) the Amalekites; he may visit (that is, deliver) his people in Egypt. Here he visits Sarah, to allow her to have the promised child. One’s destiny is changed when the
145 tn Heb “and the
146 tn Heb “spoken.”
147 tn Or “she conceived.”
148 tn Heb “the one born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.” The two modifying clauses, the first introduced with an article and the second with the relative pronoun, are placed in the middle of the sentence, before the name Isaac is stated. They are meant to underscore that this was indeed an actual birth to Abraham and Sarah in fulfillment of the promise.
149 tn Heb “Isaac his son, the son of eight days.” The name “Isaac” is repeated in the translation for clarity.
150 sn Just as God had commanded him to do. With the birth of the promised child, Abraham obeyed the
151 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause underscores how miraculous this birth was. Abraham was 100 years old. The fact that the genealogies give the ages of the fathers when their first son is born shows that this was considered a major milestone in one’s life (G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:80).
152 tn Heb “Laughter God has made for me.”
153 tn The words “about this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
154 sn Sarah’s words play on the name “Isaac” in a final triumphant manner. God prepared “laughter” (צְחֹק, ysÿkhoq ) for her, and everyone who hears about this “will laugh” (יִצְחַק, yitskhaq ) with her. The laughter now signals great joy and fulfillment, not unbelief (cf. Gen 18:12-15).
155 tn Heb “said.”
156 tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.
157 tn Heb “made.”
158 sn Children were weaned closer to the age of two or three in the ancient world, because infant mortality was high. If an infant grew to this stage, it was fairly certain he or she would live. Such an event called for a celebration, especially for parents who had waited so long for a child.
159 tn Heb “saw.”
160 tn The Piel participle used here is from the same root as the name “Isaac.” In the Piel stem the verb means “to jest; to make sport of; to play with,” not simply “to laugh,” which is the meaning of the verb in the Qal stem. What exactly Ishmael was doing is not clear. Interpreters have generally concluded that the boy was either (1) mocking Isaac (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) or (2) merely playing with Isaac as if on equal footing (cf. NAB, NRSV). In either case Sarah saw it as a threat. The same participial form was used in Gen 19:14 to describe how some in Lot’s family viewed his attempt to warn them of impending doom. It also appears later in Gen 39:14, 17, where Potiphar accuses Joseph of mocking them.
161 tn Heb “drive out.” The language may seem severe, but Sarah’s maternal instincts sensed a real danger in that Ishmael was not treating Isaac with the proper respect.
162 tn Heb “and the word was very wrong in the eyes of Abraham on account of his son.” The verb רָעַע (ra’a’) often refers to what is morally or ethically “evil.” It usage here suggests that Abraham thought Sarah’s demand was ethically (and perhaps legally) wrong.
163 tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”
164 tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.
165 tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.
166 tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.
167 tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”
168 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
169 tn Heb “He put upon her shoulder, and the boy [or perhaps, “and with the boy”], and he sent her away.” It is unclear how “and the boy” relates syntactically to what precedes. Perhaps the words should be rearranged and the text read, “and he put [them] on her shoulder and he gave to Hagar the boy.”
170 tn Heb “she went and wandered.”
171 tn Or “desert,” although for English readers this usually connotes a sandy desert like the Sahara rather than the arid wasteland of this region with its sparse vegetation.
172 tn Heb “threw,” but the child, who was now thirteen years old, would not have been carried, let alone thrown under a bush. The exaggerated language suggests Ishmael is limp from dehydration and is being abandoned to die. See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 2:85.
173 sn A bowshot would be a distance of about a hundred yards (ninety meters).
174 tn Heb “said.”
175 tn Heb “I will not look on the death of the child.” The cohortative verbal form (note the negative particle אַל,’al) here expresses her resolve to avoid the stated action.
176 tn Heb “and she lifted up her voice and wept” (that is, she wept uncontrollably). The LXX reads “he” (referring to Ishmael) rather than “she” (referring to Hagar), but this is probably an attempt to harmonize this verse with the following one, which refers to the boy’s cries.
177 sn God heard the boy’s voice. The text has not to this point indicated that Ishmael was crying out, either in pain or in prayer. But the text here makes it clear that God heard him. Ishmael is clearly central to the story. Both the mother and the
178 tn Heb “What to you?”
179 sn Here the verb heard picks up the main motif of the name Ishmael (“God hears”), introduced back in chap. 16.
180 tn Heb “And God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.” The referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
181 sn The wilderness of Paran is an area in the east central region of the Sinai peninsula, northeast from the traditional site of Mt. Sinai and with the Arabah and the Gulf of Aqaba as its eastern border.
182 tn Heb “And his mother took for him a wife from the land of Egypt.”
183 sn God is with you. Abimelech and Phicol recognized that Abraham enjoyed special divine provision and protection.
184 tn Heb “And now swear to me by God here.”
185 tn Heb “my offspring and my descendants.”
186 tn The word “land” refers by metonymy to the people in the land.
187 tn The Hebrew verb means “to stay, to live, to sojourn” as a temporary resident without ownership rights.
188 tn Or “kindness.”
189 tn Heb “According to the loyalty which I have done with you, do with me and with the land in which you are staying.”
190 tn Heb “I swear.” No object is specified in the Hebrew text, but the content of the oath requested by Abimelech is the implied object.
191 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to argue; to dispute”; it can focus on the beginning of the dispute (as here), the dispute itself, or the resolution of a dispute (Isa 1:18). Apparently the complaint was lodged before the actual oath was taken.
192 tn Heb “concerning the matter of the well of water.”
193 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to steal; to rob; to take violently.” The statement reflects Abraham’s perspective.
194 tn Heb “and also.”
195 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
196 tn Heb “What are these?”
197 tn Heb “that it be for me for a witness.”
198 sn This well. Since the king wanted a treaty to share in Abraham’s good fortune, Abraham used the treaty to secure ownership of and protection for the well he dug. It would be useless to make a treaty to live in this territory if he had no rights to the water. Abraham consented to the treaty, but added his rider to it.
199 tn Heb “that is why he called that place.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive, “that is why that place was called.”
200 sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of the oath” or “well of the seven.” Both the verb “to swear” and the number “seven” have been used throughout the account. Now they are drawn in as part of the explanation of the significance of the name.
201 sn The verb forms a wordplay with the name Beer Sheba.
202 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
203 tn Heb “arose and returned.”
204 sn The Philistines mentioned here may not be ethnically related to those who lived in Palestine in the time of the judges and the united monarchy. See D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 238.
205 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
206 sn The planting of the tamarisk tree is a sign of Abraham’s intent to stay there for a long time, not a religious act. A growing tree in the Negev would be a lasting witness to God’s provision of water.
207 tn Heb “he called there in the name of the
208 tn Heb “many days.”
209 sn The Hebrew verb used here means “to test; to try; to prove.” In this passage God tests Abraham to see if he would be obedient. See T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 44-48. See also J. L. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment (OBT), 9-30; and J. I. Lawlor, “The Test of Abraham,” GTJ 1 (1980): 19-35.
210 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
211 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
212 sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.
213 sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.
214 sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.
215 tn Heb “which I will say to.”
216 tn Heb “Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.”
217 tn Heb “he arose and he went.”
218 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.”
219 tn Heb “And Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
220 tn The Hebrew verb is masculine plural, referring to the two young servants who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on the journey.
221 tn The disjunctive clause (with the compound subject preceding the verb) may be circumstantial and temporal.
222 tn This Hebrew word literally means “to bow oneself close to the ground.” It often means “to worship.”
223 sn It is impossible to know what Abraham was thinking when he said, “we will…return to you.” When he went he knew (1) that he was to sacrifice Isaac, and (2) that God intended to fulfill his earlier promises through Isaac. How he reconciled those facts is not clear in the text. Heb 11:17-19 suggests that Abraham believed God could restore Isaac to him through resurrection.
224 sn He took the fire and the knife in his hand. These details anticipate the sacrifice that lies ahead.
225 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This is redundant and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
226 tn Heb “Here I am” (cf. Gen 22:1).
227 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here is the fire and the wood.’” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here and in the following verse the order of the introductory clauses and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
228 tn Heb “will see for himself.” The construction means “to look out for; to see to it; to provide.”
229 sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?
230 sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.
231 tn Heb “in order to slaughter.”
232 sn Heb “the messenger of the
233 tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”
234 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
235 sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).
236 sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.
237 tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”
238 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.
239 tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew
240 tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
241 tn Heb “the Lord sees” (יְהוָה יִרְאֶה, yÿhvah yir’eh, traditionally transliterated “Jehovah Jireh”; see the note on the word “provide” in v. 8). By so naming the place Abraham preserved in the memory of God’s people the amazing event that took place there.
242 sn On the expression to this day see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until this Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.
243 sn The saying connected with these events has some ambiguity, which was probably intended. The Niphal verb could be translated (1) “in the mountain of the Lord it will be seen/provided” or (2) “in the mountain the Lord will appear.” If the temple later stood here (see the note on “Moriah” in Gen 22:2), the latter interpretation might find support, for the people went to the temple to appear before the Lord, who “appeared” to them by providing for them his power and blessings. See S. R. Driver, Genesis, 219.
244 tn Heb “By myself I swear.”
245 tn Heb “the oracle of the
246 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.
247 tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).
248 tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
249 tn Or “inherit.”
250 tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).
251 tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.
252 tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 26:4). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)
253 tn Heb “and they arose and went together.”
254 tn Heb “and Abraham stayed in Beer Sheba. This has been translated as a relative clause for stylistic reasons.
255 tn In the Hebrew text the sentence begins with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to the statement.
256 sn This parenthetical note about Kemuel’s descendant is probably a later insertion by the author/compiler of Genesis and not part of the original announcement.
257 tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is important but parenthetical to the narrative. Rebekah would become the wife of Isaac (Gen 24:15).
258 tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”
259 tn Heb “Sarah.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“she”) for stylistic reasons.
260 sn Mourn…weep. The description here is of standard mourning rites (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD3 149-50). They would have been carried out in the presence of the corpse, probably in Sarah’s tent. So Abraham came in to mourn; then he rose up to go and bury his dead (v. 3).
261 tn Heb “And Abraham arose from upon the face of his dead.”
262 tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (also in vv. 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.
263 tn Heb “a resident alien and a settler.”
264 tn Heb “give,” which is used here as an idiom for “sell” (see v. 9). The idiom reflects the polite bartering that was done in the culture at the time.
265 tn Or “possession.”
266 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose.
267 tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
268 tn Heb “answered Abraham saying to him.”
269 tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”
270 tn Heb “prince of God.” The divine name may be used here as a means of expressing the superlative, “mighty prince.” The word for “prince” probably means “tribal chief” here. See M. H. Gottstein, “Nasi’ ‘elohim (Gen 23:6),” VT 3 (1953) 298-99; and D. W. Thomas, “Consideration of Some Unusual Ways of Expressing the Superlative in Hebrew,” VT 3 (1953) 215-16.
271 tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
272 tn Heb “to the people of the land” (also in v. 12).
273 tn Heb “If it is with your purpose.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) here has the nuance “purpose” or perhaps “desire” (see BDB 661 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ).
274 tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
275 tn Or “hear me.”
276 tn Heb “intercede for me with.”
277 tn Heb “give.” This is used here (also a second time later in this verse) as an idiom for “sell”; see the note on the word “grant” in v. 4.
278 tn Heb “in your presence.”
279 tn Heb “silver.”
280 tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.
281 tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.
282 sn On the expression all who entered the gate see E. A. Speiser, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate,” BASOR 144 (1956): 20-23; and G. Evans, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate: A Discussion of Professor Speiser’s Paper,” BASOR 150 (1958): 28-33.
283 tn Heb “give.” The perfect tense has here a present nuance; this is a formal, legally binding declaration. Abraham asked only for a burial site/cave within the field; Ephron agrees to sell him the entire field.
284 tn The Hebrew text adds “to you I give [i.e., sell] it.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
285 tn Heb “in the presence of the sons of my people.”
286 tn Heb “give.”
287 tn Heb “silver.”
288 tn After the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose or result.
289 tn The word “worth” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
290 sn Four hundred pieces of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 4.6 kilograms, or 160 ounces (about 10 pounds).
291 tn Heb “listened to Ephron.”
292 tn Heb “and Abraham weighed out.”
293 tn Heb “to Ephron.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
294 tn Heb “silver.”
295 tn Heb “that he had spoken.” The referent (Ephron) has been specified here in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
296 tn Heb “passing for the merchant.” The final clause affirms that the measurement of silver was according to the standards used by the merchants of the time.
297 tn Heb “And it was conveyed.” The recipient, Abraham (mentioned in the Hebrew text at the beginning of v. 18) has been placed here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
298 tn Heb “his city”; the referent (Ephron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
299 tn Heb “possession of a grave.”
300 tn Heb “days.”
301 tn Heb “Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
302 tn The Hebrew term זָקֵן (zaqen) may refer to the servant who is oldest in age or senior in authority (or both).
303 sn Put your hand under my thigh. The taking of this oath had to do with the sanctity of the family and the continuation of the family line. See D. R. Freedman, “Put Your Hand Under My Thigh – the Patriarchal Oath,” BAR 2 (1976): 2-4, 42.
304 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose.
305 tn Heb “because you must not take.”
306 tn Heb “for to my country and my relatives you must go.”
307 tn Heb “and take.”
308 tn Heb “to go after me.”
309 tn In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.
310 tn Heb “guard yourself.”
311 tn The introductory clause “And Abraham said to him” has been moved to the end of the opening sentence of direct discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.
312 tn Or “the land of my birth.”
313 tn Heb “and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying.”
314 tn Or “his messenger.”
315 tn Heb “before you and you will take.”
316 tn Heb “ to go after you.”
317 sn You will be free. If the prospective bride was not willing to accompany the servant back to Canaan, the servant would be released from his oath to Abraham.
318 tn Heb “and he swore to him concerning this matter.”
319 tn Heb “and every good thing of his master was in his hand.” The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, explaining that he took all kinds of gifts to be used at his discretion.
320 tn Heb “and he arose and went.”
321 tn The words “the region of” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
322 tn Heb “well of water.”
323 tn Heb “at the time of evening.”
324 tn Heb “make it happen before me today.” Although a number of English translations understand this as a request for success in the task (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV) it is more likely that the servant is requesting an omen or sign from God (v. 14).
325 tn Heb “act in loyal love with” or “show kindness to.”
326 tn Heb “the spring of water.”
327 tn Heb “the men.”
328 sn I will also give your camels water. It would be an enormous test for a young woman to water ten camels. The idea is that such a woman would not only be industrious but hospitable and generous.
329 tn Heb “And let the young woman to whom I say, ‘Lower your jar that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink and I will also give your camels water,’ – her you have appointed for your servant, for Isaac, and by it I will know that you have acted in faithfulness with my master.”
330 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out!” Using the participle introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator dramatically transports the audience back into the event and invites them to see Rebekah through the servant’s eyes.
331 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out – [she] who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham – and her jug [was] on her shoulder.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
332 tn Heb “And the young woman was very good of appearance, a virgin, and a man she had not known.” Some argue that the Hebrew noun translated “virgin” (בְּתוּלָה, bÿtulah) is better understood in a general sense, “young woman” (see Joel 1:8, where the word appears to refer to one who is married). In this case the circumstantial clause (“and a man she had not known”) would be restrictive, rather than descriptive. If the term actually means “virgin,” one wonders why the circumstantial clause is necessary (see Judg 21:12 as well). Perhaps the repetition emphasizes her sexual purity as a prerequisite for her role as the mother of the covenant community.
333 tn Heb “and the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
334 tn Heb “and she hurried and lowered.”
335 tn Heb “when she had finished giving him a drink.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
336 tn Heb “and she hurried and emptied.”
337 tn Heb “to know.”
338 tn The Hebrew term צָלָה (tsalah), meaning “to make successful” in the Hiphil verbal stem, is a key term in the story (see vv. 40, 42, 56).
339 sn A beka weighed about 5-6 grams (0.2 ounce).
340 sn A shekel weighed about 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce) although weights varied locally, so these bracelets weighed about 4 ounces (115 grams).
341 tn The words “and gave them to her” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
342 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’” The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
343 tn Heb “whom she bore to Nahor.” The referent (Milcah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
344 tn Heb “and she said, ‘We have plenty of both straw and feed.’” The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
345 tn Heb The words “for you” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
346 tn Heb “his faithfulness and his commitment.”
347 tn Heb “As for me – in the way the
348 tn Here “house” is an adverbial accusative of termination.
349 tn Heb “brothers.”
350 tn Heb “according to.”
351 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause introduces the audience to Laban, who will eventually play an important role in the unfolding story.
352 tn Heb “And it was when he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on the arms of his sister.” The word order is altered in the translation for the sake of clarity.
353 tn Heb “and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying.”
354 tn Heb “and look, he was standing.” The disjunctive clause with the participle following the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) invites the audience to view the scene through Laban’s eyes.
355 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified and the words “to him” supplied in the translation for clarity.
356 sn Laban’s obsession with wealth is apparent; to him it represents how one is blessed by the
357 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial.
358 tn Heb “the man”; the referent (Abraham’s servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
359 tn Some translations (e.g., NEB, NASB, NRSV) understand Laban to be the subject of this and the following verbs or take the subject of this and the following verbs as indefinite (referring to an unnamed servant; e.g., NAB, NIV).
360 tn Heb “and [one] gave.” The verb without an expressed subject may be translated as passive.
361 tn Heb “and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.”
362 tn Heb “and food was placed before him.”
363 tn Heb “my words.”
364 tc Some ancient textual witnesses have a plural verb, “and they said.”
365 tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Abraham’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are not excluded.
366 tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the
367 tn Heb “to my master.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
368 tn Heb “after her old age.”
369 tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the servant’s master, Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
370 tn Heb “but to the house of my father you must go and to my family and you must take a wife for my son.”
371 tn The imperfect is used here in a modal sense to indicate desire.
372 tn Heb “after me.”
373 tn The verb is the Hitpael of הָלַךְ (halakh), meaning “live one’s life” (see Gen 17:1). The statement may simply refer to serving the
374 tn Heb “my oath” (twice in this verse). From the Hebrew perspective the oath belonged to the person to whom it was sworn (Abraham), although in contemporary English an oath is typically viewed as belonging to the person who swears it (the servant).
375 tn Heb “if you are making successful my way on which I am going.”
376 tn The words “may events unfold as follows” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
377 tn Heb “the spring of water.”
378 tn Heb “and it will be.”
379 tn Heb “As for me, before I finished speaking to my heart.” The adverb טֶרֶם (terem) indicates the verb is a preterite; the infinitive that follows is the direct object.
380 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out.” As in 24:15, the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is used here for dramatic effect.
381 tn Heb “whom Milcah bore to him.” The referent (Nahor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
382 tn Heb “daughter.” Rebekah was actually the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. One can either translate the Hebrew term בַּת (bat) as “daughter,” in which case the term אָח (’akh) must be translated more generally as “relative” rather than “brother” (cf. NASB, NRSV) or one can translate בַּת as “granddaughter,” in which case אָח may be translated “brother” (cf. NIV).
383 tn Heb “and I will turn to the right or to the left.” The expression apparently means that Abraham’s servant will know where he should go if there is no further business here.
384 tn Heb “From the
385 tn Heb “We are not able to speak to you bad or good.” This means that Laban and Bethuel could not say one way or the other what they wanted, for they viewed it as God’s will.
386 tn Following the imperatives, the jussive with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
387 tn Heb “as the
388 tn Heb “the servant”; the noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
389 tn Heb “And they ate and drank, he and the men who [were] with him and they spent the night.”
390 tn Heb “Send me away to my master.”
391 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Rebekah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
392 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, indicating a reason for the preceding request.
393 tn After the preceding imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
394 tn Heb “and we will ask her mouth.”
395 tn The imperfect verbal form here has a modal nuance, expressing desire.
396 tn Heb “and said to her.”
397 tn Heb “become thousands of ten thousands.”
398 tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”). A similar phrase occurs in Gen 22:17.
399 tn Heb “And she arose, Rebekah and her female servants, and they rode upon camels and went after.”
400 tn Heb “the servant”; the word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
401 tn The disjunctive clause switches the audience’s attention to Isaac and signals a new episode in the story.
402 tn Heb “from the way of.”
403 sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” See Gen 16:14.
404 tn This disjunctive clause is explanatory.
405 tn Or “the South [country].”
406 tn Heb “Isaac”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
407 tn The meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain (cf. NASB, NIV “to meditate”; NRSV “to walk”).
408 tn Heb “at the turning of the evening.”
409 tn Heb “And he lifted up his eyes.” This idiom emphasizes the careful look Isaac had at the approaching caravan.
410 tn Heb “and look.” The clause introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the audience to view the scene through Isaac’s eyes.
411 tn Heb “lifted up her eyes.”
412 tn Heb “and she said to.”
413 tn Heb “the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
414 tn Heb “and the servant said.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
415 tn Heb “her”; the referent has been specified here in the translation for clarity.
416 tn Heb “Rebekah”; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun (“her”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
417 tn Heb “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her.”
418 tn Heb “after his mother.” This must refer to Sarah’s death.
419 tn Or “took.”
420 tn Heb “And Abraham added and took.”
421 sn The names Sheba and Dedan appear in Gen 10:7 as descendants of Ham through Cush and Raamah. Since these two names are usually interpreted to be place names, one plausible suggestion is that some of Abraham’s descendants lived in those regions and took names linked with it.
422 tn Or “sons.”
423 tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”
424 tn Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”
425 tn Heb “and these are the days of the years of the lifetime of Abraham that he lived.” The normal genealogical formula is expanded here due to the importance of the life of Abraham.
426 tn Heb “old and full.”
427 tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.
428 sn The cave of Machpelah was the place Abraham had purchased as a burial place for his wife Sarah (Gen 23:17-18).
429 tn See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.
430 sn God blessed Isaac. The Hebrew verb “bless” in this passage must include all the gifts that God granted to Isaac. But fertility was not one of them, at least not for twenty years, because Rebekah was barren as well (see v. 21).
431 sn Beer Lahai Roi. See the note on this place name in Gen 24:62.
432 sn This is the account of Ishmael. The Book of Genesis tends to tidy up the family records at every turning point. Here, before proceeding with the story of Isaac’s family, the narrative traces Ishmael’s family line. Later, before discussing Jacob’s family, the narrative traces Esau’s family line (see Gen 36).
433 tn The meaning of this line is not easily understood. The sons of Ishmael are listed here “by their names” and “according to their descendants.”
434 tn Or “tribal chieftains.”
435 tn Heb “And these are the days of the years of Ishmael.”
436 tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.
437 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
438 tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.
439 tn Heb “as you go.”
440 sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.
441 tn Heb “he fell.”
442 tn Heb “upon the face of all his brothers.” This last expression, obviously alluding to the earlier oracle about Ishmael (Gen 16:12), could mean that the descendants of Ishmael lived in hostility to others or that they lived in a territory that was opposite the lands of their relatives. While there is some ambiguity about the meaning, the line probably does give a hint of the Ishmaelite-Israelite conflicts to come.
443 sn This is the account of Isaac. What follows for several chapters is not the account of Isaac, except briefly, but the account of Jacob and Esau. The next chapters tell what became of Isaac and his family.
444 tn Heb “And Isaac was the son of forty years when he took Rebekah.”
445 sn Some valuable information is provided here. We learn here that Isaac married thirty-five years before Abraham died, that Rebekah was barren for twenty years, and that Abraham would have lived to see Jacob and Esau begin to grow up. The death of Abraham was recorded in the first part of the chapter as a “tidying up” of one generation before beginning the account of the next.
446 tn The Hebrew verb עָתַר (’atar), translated “prayed [to]” here, appears in the story of God’s judgment on Egypt in which Moses asked the
447 tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.
448 tn Heb “If [it is] so, why [am] I this [way]?” Rebekah wanted to know what was happening to her, but the question itself reflects a growing despair over the struggle of the unborn children.
449 sn Asked the
450 sn By metonymy the two children in her womb are described as two nations of which the two children, Jacob and Esau, would become the fathers. The language suggests there would be a struggle between these nations, with one being stronger than the other. The oracle reveals that all of Jacob’s scheming was unnecessary in the final analysis. He would have become the dominant nation without using deception to steal his brother’s blessing.
451 tn Heb “And her days were filled to give birth.”
452 tn Heb “look!” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene as if they were actually present at the birth.
453 sn Reddish. The Hebrew word translated “reddish” is אַדְמוֹנִי (’admoni), which forms a wordplay on the Edomites, Esau’s descendants. The writer sees in Esau’s appearance at birth a sign of what was to come. After all, the reader has already been made aware of the “nations” that were being born.
454 tn Heb “all of him.”
455 sn Hairy. Here is another wordplay involving the descendants of Esau. The Hebrew word translated “hairy” is שֵׂעָר (se’ar); the Edomites will later live in Mount Seir, perhaps named for its wooded nature.
456 tn Heb “And they called his name Esau.” The name “Esau” (עֵשָׂו, ’esav) is not etymologically related to שֵׂעָר (se’ar), but it draws on some of the sounds.
457 tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.
458 tn Heb “And he called his name Jacob.” Some ancient witnesses read “they called his name Jacob” (see v. 25). In either case the subject is indefinite.
459 tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”
460 tn Heb “knowing.”
461 tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Jacob with Esau and draws attention to the striking contrasts. In contrast to Esau, a man of the field, Jacob was civilized, as the phrase “living in tents” signifies. Whereas Esau was a skillful hunter, Jacob was calm and even-tempered (תָּם, tam), which normally has the idea of “blameless.”
462 tn Heb “the taste of game was in his mouth.” The word for “game,” “venison” is here the same Hebrew word as “hunter” in the last verse. Here it is a metonymy, referring to that which the hunter kills.
463 tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Rebekah with Jacob and draws attention to the contrast. The verb here is a participle, drawing attention to Rebekah’s continuing, enduring love for her son.
464 sn Jacob cooked some stew. There are some significant words and wordplays in this story that help clarify the points of the story. The verb “cook” is זִיד (zid), which sounds like the word for “hunter” (צַיִד, tsayid). This is deliberate, for the hunter becomes the hunted in this story. The word זִיד means “to cook, to boil,” but by the sound play with צַיִד it comes to mean “set a trap by cooking.” The usage of the word shows that it can also have the connotation of acting presumptuously (as in boiling over). This too may be a comment on the scene. For further discussion of the rhetorical devices in the Jacob narratives, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).
465 tn The rare term לָעַט (la’at), translated “feed,” is used in later Hebrew for feeding animals (see Jastrow, 714). If this nuance was attached to the word in the biblical period, then it may depict Esau in a negative light, comparing him to a hungry animal. Famished Esau comes in from the hunt, only to enter the trap. He can only point at the red stew and ask Jacob to feed him.
466 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.
467 sn Esau’s descendants would eventually be called Edom. Edom was the place where they lived, so-named probably because of the reddish nature of the hills. The writer can use the word “red” to describe the stew that Esau gasped for to convey the nature of Esau and his descendants. They were a lusty, passionate, and profane people who lived for the moment. Again, the wordplay is meant to capture the “omen in the nomen.”
468 tn Heb “today.”
469 tn Heb “And what is this to me, a birthright?”
470 tn Heb “Swear to me today.”
471 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
472 sn And sold his birthright. There is evidence from Hurrian culture that rights of inheritance were occasionally sold or transferred. Here Esau is portrayed as a profane person who would at the moment rather have a meal than the right to inherit. He will soon forget this trade and seek his father’s blessing in spite of it.
473 sn The style here is typical of Hebrew narrative; after the tension is resolved with the dialogue, the working out of it is recorded in a rapid sequence of verbs (“gave”; “ate”; “drank”; “got up”; “went out”). See also Gen 3:1-7 for another example.
474 sn So Esau despised his birthright. This clause, which concludes the episode, is a summary statement which reveals the underlying significance of Esau’s actions. “To despise” means to treat something as worthless or with contempt. Esau’s willingness to sell his birthright was evidence that he considered it to be unimportant.
475 tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”
476 sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.
477 sn Do not go down to Egypt. The words echo Gen 12:10, which reports that “Abram went down to Egypt,” but state the opposite.
478 tn Heb “say to you.”
479 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur) means “to live temporarily without ownership of land.” Abraham’s family will not actually possess the land of Canaan until the Israelite conquest hundreds of years later.
480 tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.
481 tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
482 tn The Hiphil stem of the verb קוּם (qum) here means “to fulfill, to bring to realization.” For other examples of this use of this verb form, see Lev 26:9; Num 23:19; Deut 8:18; 9:5; 1 Sam 1:23; 1 Kgs 6:12; Jer 11:5.
483 tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”
484 tn Heb “your descendants.”
485 tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 22:18). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)
486 tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.
487 tn Heb “listened to my voice.”
488 sn My charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. The language of this verse is clearly interpretive, for Abraham did not have all these laws. The terms are legal designations for sections of the Mosaic law and presuppose the existence of the law. Some Rabbinic views actually conclude that Abraham had fulfilled the whole law before it was given (see m. Qiddushin 4:14). Some scholars argue that this story could only have been written after the law was given (C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:424-25). But the simplest explanation is that the narrator (traditionally taken to be Moses the Lawgiver) elaborated on the simple report of Abraham’s obedience by using terms with which the Israelites were familiar. In this way he depicts Abraham as the model of obedience to God’s commands, whose example Israel should follow.
489 sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.
490 tn Heb “lest.” The words “for he thought to himself” are supplied because the next clause is written with a first person pronoun, showing that Isaac was saying or thinking this.
491 tn Heb “kill me on account of.”
492 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
493 tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”
494 tn Heb “look, Isaac.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene through Abimelech’s eyes.
495 tn Or “fondling.”
496 tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.
497 tn Heb “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” Since the verb “said” probably means “said to myself” (i.e., “thought”) here, the direct discourse in the Hebrew statement has been converted to indirect discourse in the translation. In addition the simple prepositional phrase “on account of her” has been clarified in the translation as “to get her” (cf. v. 7).
498 tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
499 tn Heb “people.”
500 tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”
501 tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.
502 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.
503 tn Heb “a hundredfold.”
504 tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.
505 tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.
506 tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.
507 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
508 tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”
509 tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”
510 tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).
511 tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”
512 tn Heb “Go away from us.”
513 sn You have become much more powerful. This explanation for the expulsion of Isaac from Philistine territory foreshadows the words used later by the Egyptians to justify their oppression of Israel (see Exod 1:9).
514 tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”
515 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
516 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
517 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
518 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
519 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
520 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
521 tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).
522 tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.
523 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
524 tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”
525 sn The name Esek means “argument” in Hebrew. The following causal clause explains that Isaac gave the well this name as a reminder of the conflict its discovery had created. In the Hebrew text there is a wordplay, for the name is derived from the verb translated “argued.”
526 tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
527 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
528 tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
529 sn The name Sitnah (שִׂטְנָה, sitnah) is derived from a Hebrew verbal root meaning “to oppose; to be an adversary” (cf. Job 1:6). The name was a reminder that the digging of this well caused “opposition” from the Philistines.
530 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
531 tn Heb “and he called its name.”
532 sn The name Rehoboth (רְהֹבוֹת, rehovot) is derived from a verbal root meaning “to make room.” The name was a reminder that God had made room for them. The story shows Isaac’s patience with the opposition; it also shows how God’s blessing outdistanced the men of Gerar. They could not stop it or seize it any longer.
533 tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
534 tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the
535 tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”
536 tn The disjunctive clause supplies pertinent supplemental information. The past perfect is used because the following narrative records the treaty at Beer Sheba. Prior to this we are told that Isaac settled in Beer Sheba; presumably this treaty would have allowed him to do that. However, it may be that he settled there and then made the treaty by which he renamed the place Beer Sheba. In this case one may translate “Now Abimelech came to him.”
537 tn Heb “and.”
538 tn Many modern translations render the Hebrew term מֵרֵעַ (merea’) as “councillor” or “adviser,” but the term may not designate an official position but simply a close personal friend.
539 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.
540 tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.
541 tn Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.
542 tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.
543 tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).
544 tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”
545 tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”
546 tn Heb “touched.”
547 tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”
548 tn Heb “and we sent you away.”
549 tn The Philistine leaders are making an observation, not pronouncing a blessing, so the translation reads “you are blessed” rather than “may you be blessed” (cf. NAB).
550 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
551 tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”
552 tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”
553 tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”
554 tn Heb “and they said to him, ‘We have found water.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
555 sn The name Shibah (שִׁבְעָה, shiv’ah) means (or at least sounds like) the word meaning “oath.” The name was a reminder of the oath sworn by Isaac and the Philistines to solidify their treaty.
556 sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of an oath” or “well of seven.” According to Gen 21:31 Abraham gave Beer Sheba its name when he made a treaty with the Philistines. Because of the parallels between this earlier story and the account in 26:26-33, some scholars see chaps. 21 and 26 as two versions (or doublets) of one original story. However, if one takes the text as it stands, it appears that Isaac made a later treaty agreement with the people of the land that was similar to his father’s. Abraham dug a well at the site and named the place Beer Sheba; Isaac dug another well there and named the well Shibah. Later generations then associated the name Beer Sheba with Isaac, even though Abraham gave the place its name at an earlier time.
557 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.
558 tn Heb “the son of forty years.”
559 tn Heb “took as a wife.”
560 tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”
561 tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.
562 tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”
563 tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).
564 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.
565 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.
566 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.
567 tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”
568 tn The Hebrew word is to be spelled either צַיִד (tsayid) following the marginal reading (Qere), or צֵידָה (tsedah) following the consonantal text (Kethib). Either way it is from the same root as the imperative צוּדָה (tsudah, “hunt down”).
569 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
570 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The use of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as the subject emphasizes that the blessing will be made with all Isaac’s desire and vitality. The conjunction “so that” closely relates the meal to the blessing, suggesting that this will be a ritual meal in conjunction with the giving of a formal blessing.
571 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a conjunction with the subject, followed by the predicate) here introduces a new scene in the story.
572 tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.
573 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
574 tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.
575 tn In her report to Jacob, Rebekah plays down Isaac’s strong desire to bless Esau by leaving out נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”), but by adding the phrase “in the presence of the
576 tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”
577 tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”
578 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
579 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive. It carries forward the tone of instruction initiated by the command to “go…and get” in the preceding verse.
580 tn The form is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the future nuance of the preceding verbs of instruction, but by switching the subject to Jacob, indicates the expected result of the subterfuge.
581 tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.
582 tn Heb “And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, ‘Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, but I am a smooth [skinned] man.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
583 tn Heb “Perhaps my father will feel me and I will be in his eyes like a mocker.” The Hebrew expression “I will be in his eyes like” means “I would appear to him as.”
584 tn Heb “upon me your curse.”
585 tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”
586 tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
587 tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
588 tn In the Hebrew text the object (“the skins of the young goats”) precedes the verb. The disjunctive clause draws attention to this key element in the subterfuge.
589 tn The word “hands” probably includes the forearms here. How the skins were attached is not specified in the Hebrew text; cf. NLT “she made him a pair of gloves.”
590 tn Heb “gave…into the hand of.”
591 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
592 sn Which are you, my son? Isaac’s first question shows that the deception is going to require more subterfuge than Rebekah had anticipated. Jacob will have to pull off the deceit.
593 tn Heb “get up and sit.” This may mean simply “sit up,” or it may indicate that he was to get up from his couch and sit at a table.
594 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.” These words, though not reported by Rebekah to Jacob (see v. 7) accurately reflect what Isaac actually said to Esau (see v. 4). Perhaps Jacob knew more than Rebekah realized, but it is more likely that this was an idiom for sincere blessing with which Jacob was familiar. At any rate, his use of the precise wording was a nice, convincing touch.
595 tn Heb “What is this?” The enclitic pronoun “this” adds emphasis to the question, which is comparable to the English rhetorical question, “How in the world?”
596 tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.
597 tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”
598 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the
599 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
600 tn Heb “Are you this one, Esau, my son, or not?” On the use of the interrogative particle here, see BDB 210 s.v. הֲ.
601 tn Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
602 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
603 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
604 tn Heb “Bring near to me and I will eat of the wild game, my son.” Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
605 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The presence of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as subject emphasizes Isaac’s heartfelt desire to do this. The conjunction indicates that the ritual meal must be first eaten before the formal blessing may be given.
606 tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
607 tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
608 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
609 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
610 tn Heb “see.”
611 tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”
612 tn Heb “and from the fatness.”
613 tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.
614 tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”
615 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
616 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.
617 tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was
618 tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”
619 tn Heb “and he said to his father”; the referent of “he” (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity, while the words “his father” have been replaced by the pronoun “him” for stylistic reasons.
620 tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
621 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
622 tn Heb “said.”
623 tn Heb “and he said, ‘I [am] your son, your firstborn.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.
624 tn Heb “and Isaac trembled with a great trembling to excess.” The verb “trembled” is joined with a cognate accusative, which is modified by an adjective “great,” and a prepositional phrase “to excess.” All of this is emphatic, showing the violence of Isaac’s reaction to the news.
625 tn Heb “Who then is he who hunted game and brought [it] to me so that I ate from all before you arrived and blessed him?”
626 tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.
627 tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”
628 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
629 tn Or “took”; “received.”
630 tn Heb “Is he not rightly named Jacob?” The rhetorical question, since it expects a positive reply, has been translated as a declarative statement.
631 sn He has tripped me up. When originally given, the name Jacob was a play on the word “heel” (see Gen 25:26). The name (since it is a verb) probably means something like “may he protect,” that is, as a rearguard, dogging the heels. This name was probably chosen because of the immediate association with the incident of grabbing the heel. Esau gives the name “Jacob” a negative connotation here, the meaning “to trip up; to supplant.”
632 tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
633 tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”
634 tn Heb “look.”
635 tn Heb “from the fatness.”
636 sn You will tear off his yoke from your neck. It may be that this prophetic blessing found its fulfillment when Jerusalem fell and Edom got its revenge. The oracle makes Edom subservient to Israel and suggests the Edomites would live away from the best land and be forced to sustain themselves by violent measures.
637 tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
638 tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”
639 tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.
640 tn Heb “days.”
641 tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.
642 tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”
643 tn Heb “she sent and called for.”
644 tn Heb “is consoling himself with respect to you to kill you.” The only way Esau had of dealing with his anger at the moment was to plan to kill his brother after the death of Isaac.
645 tn Heb “listen to my voice.”
646 tn Heb “arise, flee.”
647 tn Heb “a few days.” Rebekah probably downplays the length of time Jacob will be gone, perhaps to encourage him and assure him that things will settle down soon. She probably expects Esau’s anger to die down quickly. However, Jacob ends up being gone twenty years and he never sees Rebekah again.
648 tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
649 tn Heb “and I will send and I will take you from there.” The verb “send” has no object in the Hebrew text; one must be supplied in the translation. Either “someone” or “a message” could be supplied, but since in those times a message would require a messenger, “someone” has been used.
650 tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.
651 tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).
652 tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (see also Gen 23:3), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.
653 tn Heb “If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, why to me life?”
654 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
655 tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.
656 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
657 tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.
658 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”
659 tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”
660 tn Heb “and may he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you.” The name “Abraham” is an objective genitive here; this refers to the blessing that God gave to Abraham.
661 tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
662 tn Heb “the land of your sojournings,” that is, the land where Jacob had been living as a resident alien, as his future descendants would after him.
663 tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”
664 tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.
665 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
666 tn Heb “saw.”
667 tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”
668 tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”
669 tn Heb “took for a wife.”
670 tn Heb “the place.” The article may indicate simply that the place is definite in the mind of the narrator. However, as the story unfolds the place is transformed into a holy place. See A. P. Ross, “Jacob’s Vision: The Founding of Bethel,” BSac 142 (1985): 224-37.
671 tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”
672 tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).
673 tn Heb “and he put [it at] the place of his head.” The text does not actually say the stone was placed under his head to serve as a pillow, although most interpreters and translators assume this. It is possible the stone served some other purpose. Jacob does not seem to have been a committed monotheist yet (see v. 20-21) so he may have believed it contained some spiritual power. Note that later in the story he anticipates the stone becoming the residence of God (see v. 22). Many cultures throughout the world view certain types of stones as magical and/or sacred. See J. G. Fraser, Folklore in the Old Testament, 231-37.
674 tn Heb “lay down.”
675 tn Heb “and dreamed.”
676 tn Heb “and look.” The scene which Jacob witnessed is described in three clauses introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh). In this way the narrator invites the reader to witness the scene through Jacob’s eyes. J. P. Fokkelman points out that the particle goes with a lifted arm and an open mouth: “There, a ladder! Oh, angels! and look, the
677 tn The Hebrew noun סֻלָּם (sullam, “ladder, stairway”) occurs only here in the OT, but there appears to be an Akkadian cognate simmiltu (with metathesis of the second and third consonants and a feminine ending) which has a specialized meaning of “stairway, ramp.” See H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 34. For further discussion see C. Houtman, “What Did Jacob See in His Dream at Bethel? Some Remarks on Genesis 28:10-22,” VT 27 (1977): 337-52; J. G. Griffiths, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 76 (1964/65): 229-30; and A. R. Millard, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 78 (1966/67): 86-87.
678 tn Heb “the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” The Hebrew word for “father” can typically be used in a broader sense than the English word, in this case referring to Abraham (who was Jacob’s grandfather). For stylistic reasons and for clarity, the words “your father” are supplied with “Isaac” in the translation.
679 tn The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets) can mean “[the] earth,” “land,” “region,” “piece of ground,” or “ground” depending on the context. Here the term specifically refers to the plot of ground on which Jacob was lying, but at the same time this stands by metonymy for the entire land of Canaan.
680 tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.
681 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.
682 tn Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.
683 tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”
684 tn Heb “Look, I [am] with you.” The clause is a nominal clause; the verb to be supplied could be present (as in the translation) or future, “Look, I [will be] with you” (cf. NEB).
685 tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
686 tn Heb “said.”
687 tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”
688 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
689 tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.
690 tn Heb “standing stone.”
691 tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).
692 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
693 tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”
694 tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.
695 tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.
696 tn Heb “and all which you give to me I will surely give a tenth of it to you.” The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/object) highlights this statement as well.
697 tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his feet.” This unusual expression suggests that Jacob had a new lease on life now that God had promised him the blessing he had so desperately tried to gain by his own efforts. The text portrays him as having a new step in his walk.
698 tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”
699 tn Heb “and he saw, and look.” As in Gen 28:12-15, the narrator uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here and in the next clause to draw the reader into the story.
700 tn Heb “and look, there.”
701 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.
702 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
703 tn Heb “son.”
704 tn Heb “and they said, ‘We know.’” The word “him” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the translation several introductory clauses throughout this section have been placed after the direct discourse they introduce for stylistic reasons as well.
705 tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”
706 tn Heb “peace.”
707 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
708 tn Heb “the day is great.”
709 tn Heb “water the sheep and go and pasture [them].” The verbal forms are imperatives, but Jacob would hardly be giving direct orders to someone else’s shepherds. The nuance here is probably one of advice.
710 tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.
711 tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”
712 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).
713 tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
714 tn Heb “drew near, approached.”
715 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother.” The text says nothing initially about the beauty of Rachel. But the reader is struck by the repetition of “Laban the brother of his mother.” G. J. Wenham is no doubt correct when he observes that Jacob’s primary motive at this stage is to ingratiate himself with Laban (Genesis [WBC], 2:231).
716 tn Heb “and he lifted up his voice and wept.” The idiom calls deliberate attention to the fact that Jacob wept out loud.
717 tn Heb “declared.”
718 tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”
719 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
720 tn Heb “and he told to Laban all these things.” This might mean Jacob told Laban how he happened to be there, but Laban’s response (see v. 14) suggests “all these things” refers to what Jacob had previously told Rachel (see v. 12).
721 tn Heb “indeed, my bone and my flesh are you.” The expression sounds warm enough, but the presence of “indeed” may suggest that Laban had to be convinced of Jacob’s identity before permitting him to stay. To be one’s “bone and flesh” is to be someone’s blood relative. For example, the phrase describes the relationship between Abimelech and the Shechemites (Judg 9:2; his mother was a Shechemite); David and the Israelites (2 Sam 5:1); David and the elders of Judah (2 Sam 19:12,); and David and his nephew Amasa (2 Sam 19:13, see 2 Sam 17:2; 1 Chr 2:16-17).
722 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
723 tn Heb “a month of days.”
724 tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.
725 tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.
726 tn Heb “and to Laban [there were] two daughters.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a prepositional phrase) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, vv. 16-17 have been set in parentheses in the translation.
727 tn Heb “and the eyes of Leah were tender.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a noun) continues the parenthesis begun in v. 16. It is not clear what is meant by “tender” (or “delicate”) eyes. The expression may mean she had appealing eyes (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT), though some suggest that they were plain, not having the brightness normally expected. Either way, she did not measure up to her gorgeous sister.
728 tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”
729 tn Heb “Jacob loved.”
730 tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”
731 tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”
732 sn But they seemed like only a few days to him. This need not mean that the time passed quickly. More likely it means that the price seemed insignificant when compared to what he was getting in the bargain.
733 tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.
734 tn Heb “and Jacob said.”
735 tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”
736 tn Heb “and I will go in to her.” The verb is a cohortative; it may be subordinated to the preceding request, “that I may go in,” or it may be an independent clause expressing his desire. The verb “go in” in this context refers to sexual intercourse (i.e., the consummation of the marriage).
737 tn Heb “men.”
738 tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”
739 tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
740 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
741 tn Heb “went in to her.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.
742 tn Heb “and Laban gave to her Zilpah his female servant, to Leah his daughter [for] a servant.” This clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
743 tn Heb “and it happened in the morning that look, it was Leah.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.
744 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
745 tn Heb What is this you have done to me?” The use of the pronoun “this” is enclitic, adding emphasis to the question: “What in the world have you done to me?”
746 sn The Hebrew verb translated tricked here (רָמָה, ramah) is cognate to the noun used in Gen 27:35 to describe Jacob’s deception of Esau. Jacob is discovering that what goes around, comes around. See J. A. Diamond, “The Deception of Jacob: A New Perspective on an Ancient Solution to the Problem,” VT 34 (1984): 211-13.
747 tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘It is not done so in our place.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
748 tn Heb “to give the younger.” The words “daughter” and “in marriage” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
749 tn Heb “fulfill the period of seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as “my older daughter” for clarity.
750 tn Heb “this other one.”
751 tn Heb “and we will give to you also this one in exchange for labor which you will work with me, still seven other years.”
752 tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
753 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
754 tn Heb “the seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as Leah to avoid confusion with Rachel, mentioned later in the verse.
755 tn Heb “and he gave to him Rachel his daughter for him for a wife.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
756 tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”
757 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
758 tn Heb “went in also to Rachel.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.
759 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
760 tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”
761 tn Heb “hated.” The rhetorical device of overstatement is used (note v. 30, which says simply that Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah) to emphasize that Rachel, as Jacob’s true love and the primary object of his affections, had an advantage over Leah.
762 tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”
763 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
764 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”
765 tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”
766 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
767 sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the
768 tn Heb “will be joined to me.”
769 sn The name Levi (לֵוִי, levi), the precise meaning of which is debated, was appropriate because it sounds like the verb לָוָה (lavah, “to join”), used in the statement recorded earlier in the verse.
770 sn The name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) means “he will be praised” and reflects the sentiment Leah expresses in the statement recorded earlier in the verse. For further discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ with an Excursus on the Etymology of Todah and Torah,” JBL 46 (1927): 151-85; and A. R. Millard, “The Meaning of the Name Judah,” ZAW 86 (1974): 216-18.
771 tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
772 tn Heb “sons.”
773 tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”
774 tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”
775 tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.
776 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.
777 tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
778 tn Heb “upon my knees.” This is an idiomatic way of saying that Bilhah will be simply a surrogate mother. Rachel will adopt the child as her own.
779 tn Heb “and I will be built up, even I, from her.” The prefixed verbal form with the conjunction is subordinated to the preceding prefixed verbal form and gives the ultimate purpose for the proposed action. The idiom of “built up” here refers to having a family (see Gen 16:2, as well as Ruth 4:11 and BDB 125 s.v. בָנָה).
780 tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
781 tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.
782 tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).
783 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”
784 tn Heb “and also he has heard my voice.” The expression means that God responded positively to Rachel’s cry and granted her request.
785 tn Or “therefore.”
786 sn The name Dan means “he vindicated” or “he judged.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. The verb translated “vindicated” is from דִּין (din, “to judge, to vindicate”), the same verbal root from which the name is derived. Rachel sensed that God was righting the wrong.
787 tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”
788 tn Heb “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister, also I have prevailed.” The phrase “mighty struggle” reads literally “struggles of God.” The plural participle “struggles” reflects the ongoing nature of the struggle, while the divine name is used here idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the struggle. See J. Skinner, Genesis (ICC), 387.
789 sn The name Naphtali (נַפְתָּלִי, naftali) must mean something like “my struggle” in view of the statement Rachel made in the preceding clause. The name plays on this earlier statement, “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister.”
790 tn Heb “she took her servant Zilpah and gave her.” The verbs “took” and “gave” are treated as a hendiadys in the translation: “she gave.”
791 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”
792 tc The statement in the Kethib (consonantal text) appears to mean literally “with good fortune,” if one takes the initial בְּ (bet) as a preposition indicating accompaniment. The Qere (marginal reading) means “good fortune has arrived.”
793 sn The name Gad (גָּד, gad) means “good fortune.” The name reflects Leah’s feeling that good fortune has come her way, as expressed in her statement recorded earlier in the verse.
794 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”
795 tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”
796 tn Heb “daughters.”
797 sn The name Asher (אָשֶׁר, ’asher) apparently means “happy one.” The name plays on the words used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. Both the Hebrew noun and verb translated “happy” and “call me happy,” respectively, are derived from the same root as the name Asher.
798 tn Heb “during the days.”
799 sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.
800 tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
801 tn Heb “therefore.”
802 tn Heb “lie down.” The expression “lie down with” in this context (here and in the following verse) refers to sexual intercourse. The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.
803 tn Heb “must come in to me.” The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. She has acquired him for the night and feels he is obligated to have sexual relations with her.
804 tn Heb “I have surely hired.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form for emphasis. The name Issachar (see v. 18) seems to be related to this expression.
805 tn This is the same Hebrew verb (שָׁכַב, shakhav) translated “sleep with” in v. 15. In direct discourse the more euphemistic “sleep with” was used, but here in the narrative “marital relations” reflects more clearly the emphasis on sexual intercourse.
806 tn Heb “listened to.”
807 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).
808 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.
809 tn Heb “God has given my reward.”
810 tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).
811 sn The name Issachar (יְשָּׁשכָר, yishakhar) appears to mean “man of reward” or possibly “there is reward.” The name plays on the word used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew noun translated “reward” is derived from the same root as the name Issachar. The irony is that Rachel thought the mandrakes would work for her, and she was willing to trade one night for them. But in that one night Leah became pregnant.
812 tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.
813 sn The name Zebulun (זְבֻלוּן, zevulun) apparently means “honor.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew verb translated “will honor” and the name Zebulun derive from the same root.
814 tn Heb “remembered.”
815 tn Heb “and God listened to her and opened up her womb.” Since “God” is the subject of the previous clause, the noun has been replaced by the pronoun “he” in the translation for stylistic reasons
816 tn Or “conceived.”
817 tn Heb “my reproach.” A “reproach” is a cutting taunt or painful ridicule, but here it probably refers by metonymy to Rachel’s barren condition, which was considered shameful in this culture and was the reason why she was the object of taunting and ridicule.
818 sn The name Joseph (יוֹסֵף, yoseph) means “may he add.” The name expresses Rachel’s desire to have an additional son. In Hebrew the name sounds like the verb (אָסַף,’asasf) translated “taken away” in the earlier statement made in v. 23. So the name, while reflecting Rachel’s hope, was also a reminder that God had removed her shame.
819 tn The perfect verbal form is translated as a past perfect because Rachel’s giving birth to Joseph preceded Jacob’s conversation with Laban.
820 tn The imperatival form here expresses a request.
821 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
822 tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”
823 tn Heb “give my wives and my children, for whom I have served you.” In one sense Laban had already “given” Jacob his two daughters as wives (Gen 29:21, 28). Here Jacob was asking for permission to take his own family along with him on the journey back to Canaan.
824 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
825 tn Heb “for you, you know my service [with] which I have served you.”
826 tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
827 tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the
828 tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”
829 tn Heb “and he said to him, ‘You know how I have served you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons, and the referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
830 tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”
831 tn Or “for.”
832 tn Heb “before me.”
833 tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”
834 tn Heb “at my foot.”
835 tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”
836 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
837 tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.
838 tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
839 tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”
840 tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”
841 tn Heb “pass through.”
842 tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”
843 tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”
844 tn Heb “and it will be my wage.” The referent collective singular pronoun (“it) has been specified as “these animals” in the translation for clarity.
845 tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”
846 tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”
847 tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”
848 tn Heb “every one which is not speckled and spotted among the lambs and dark among the goats, stolen it is with me.”
849 tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘Good, let it be according to your word.’” On the asseverative use of the particle לוּ (lu) here, see HALOT 521 s.v. לוּ.
850 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
851 tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”
852 tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”
853 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the vav with subject) is circumstantial/temporal; Laban removed the animals while Jacob was taking care of the rest.
854 sn He put the branches in front of the flocks…when they came to drink. It was generally believed that placing such “visual aids” before the animals as they were mating, it was possible to influence the appearance of their offspring. E. A. Speiser notes that “Jacob finds a way to outwit his father-in-law, through prenatal conditioning of the flock by visual aids – in conformance with universal folk beliefs” (Genesis [AB], 238). Nevertheless, in spite of Jacob’s efforts at animal husbandry, he still attributes the resulting success to God (see 31:5).
855 tn The Hebrew verb used here can mean “to be in heat” (see v. 38) or “to mate; to conceive; to become pregnant.” The latter nuance makes better sense in this verse, for the next clause describes them giving birth.
856 tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
857 tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”
858 tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock.”
859 tn Heb “he did not put [them] in.” The referent of the [understood] direct object, “them,” has been specified as “the branches” in the translation for clarity.
860 tn Heb “were for Laban.”
861 tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
862 tn Heb “and there were to him.”